The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has recovered from a hypertension attack of two months ago to the extent that he can return to work with practically no restrictions on his normal work load, a medical source said on Sunday.
The source told Interfax he had come to that conclusion after meeting Patriarch Alexy II at a sanatorium on Saturday and Sunday.
Alexy, who moved to the Barvikha sanatorium near Moscow after a month at the Central Clinic Hospital in Russia's capital, had asked to be discharged on December 25 and the doctors, who describe his condition as "stably good," did not object, the source said.
Nor did the doctors have anything against Alexy's tight schedule for the next two weeks, which includes chairing a meeting of the Holy Synod, the church's governing body, and leading a New Year worship service and a series of pre-Christmas services, events that will take the patriarch a lot of effort.
Alexy was also fit enough to keep long-distance trips on his schedule, the doctors thought.
Doctors said his condition was a result of treatment and his willpower.